In the 'Read this first' thread it mentioned that the replacement thermostat from Mazmart should be at least 170 deg. The only one I see is sligthly lower, (168.8), will this cause the problems mentioned , power loss, worse gas milage, etc. ? This thing is a blast to drive and I want to do what I can to make it last in this heat.

 

Close enough for rock'n'roll. The stock one is 180 and there should be no adverse effects.

 

So removing it completely is a no no?

 

Thanks, don,t mind spending the money to make it more reliable but I just don,t want to shoot myself in the foot in the process.

 

Correct - never remove a thermostat. Flow through the cooling system is designed with the thermostat in place.

Ken

 

The ONLY case in which a thermostat could be removed completely without ill effects is in a 100% race car that NEVER sees cold water temperatures and needs the most amount of flow possible.

Removing the thermostat in a street car will typically mean that even an RX-8 would probably hold a cruising coolant temp in the 120F-150F range in moderate ambient temps. Huge flow through the radiator from the reduced restriction, and that radiator would consistently be shedding any and all heat it could from the engine. Aside from the ECU being programmed to expect functionality above 160F, oil this cold (the oil works with the coolant to shed engine heat, so they are similar in temperature for the RX-8) would have a significant amount of trouble protecting the engine without going extremely thin, and even then the additives would probably not work correctly anyway.

 

^Agree. Car will take much longer even to get to those temps. That means it will also run richer longer which also exacerbates carbon build-up.